What’s Blooming

One of the ladies at The Table is a true gardener. Not just in the “I sometimes keep succulents alive” kind of way. But in the “I didn’t even know you could do that in Arizona” kind of way.

She was recently sharing with me about a volunteer experience she had where the food given out to those in need was partially sustained by a community garden. She said that at first she wondered if it could do more good as an investment, selling the fresh produce, but then was given such a clear message from the Spirit about God’s boundless generosity. And I found it so beautiful that God spoke so personally to this daughter of his by something that she loved most…gardens.

But then, as I began preparing for our Resurrection Sunday message, I couldn’t get over the fact that when Mary saw Jesus’ resurrected body that wonderful day 2,000 years ago she thought he was the gardener. And it never occurred to me that she wasn’t completely wrong. 

Was He not present in the creation of the perfect garden, Eden?

Is he not still working to pull the weeds, prune the branches and do restorative work?

Does he not specialize in growing beautiful things out of the dirt in our lives?

Will he not bring us all back into a garden in the end?

Our community at the Table has watched some beautiful things begin to bloom lately.

Through our study on Nehemiah, God has been tilling the soil to prepare us for missions of restoration. We’re reworking our mindset to realize that, first of all, Church isn’t a place we go, it’s a people we belong to. But also, as my friend, Pastor Jaime recently said, “The Church doesn’t have a mission, the Mission has a Church.” Mission birthed the Church and is what ties all these different people together. Knowing we are a community on mission has helped stir a passion for taking His love outside of our walls. There’s been opportunities popping up for assisting single moms in need of housing, refugees needing community, continuing to connect and provide for our Title 1 neighborhood schools, and filling in the gap for those in need of grocery assistance right now.  

Through our ladies’ trip to Pinerock for District Women’s retreat, we strengthened our relationships with each other, but also strengthened our faith in an active, caring and powerful God. It’s hard to even describe how specifically and personally God spoke to us during the weekend, but beautiful, unifying and miraculous things were happening in the Kingdom of God through the women of the Arizona District Church of the Nazarene.

And God has been doing something new within the men of the Table as well. During our most recent monthly men’s breakfast, the grown men decided to include the youngest among them, even pairing up to pick up those in need of a ride. They are practicing being the uncles, grandpas and big brothers of the family of God, and it’s been great to watch them grow.

With all of this talk of flowers and blooming, please realize that I don’t mean to paint an unrealistic picture of The Table, or house church in general. We’re not perfect. The grass isn’t always green, and not everything that comes up is roses. Sometimes the house practically shakes with noise. Some days I order way too much cilantro and not enough cheese on our Mesquite Grill Tacos Mother’s Day catered meal, or we forget to grab the gluten free flat bread/crackers and we have to bless and tear up the stale corn tortillas for communion. We don’t always see things the same, and house church means figuring that out in real time. Kids might interrupt prayer time to ask for a popsicle or track in grass and mud. Gardening can be messy! But our relationships with each other matter to God and they’re worth contending for. So we keep digging, planting, watering, and waiting expectantly.

What has God been growing in you lately? We want to hear your story!